This isn't really a "public" trial, but a trial for devs without MSDN accounts to test against. It has an IMPORTANT CAVEAT that I hope will go away once the OS hits GA and the real trial goes up. Namely: Following the evaluation period, you will need to replace the operating system on your test computer and reinstall all your programs and data. It is not possible to upgrade the evaluation to a licensed working version of Windows 8. A clean installation is required. (Emphasis mine)

So, don't install this on a real box that has data you care about on, unless you're cool with reformatting it again in 90 days.

Yup, just installed this on my tablet to tide me over until retail Windows 8 comes out. I think I'm going to sell my Samsung Slate for sure. Something about how the touchscreen behaves makes it impossible to select things or use the long-touch right-click on the desktop. It's really annoying when trying to move around tiles.

[EDIT] With the purpose of buying a tablet designed for Win8. I'm very curious to see how the x86 Surface can do as a full laptop replacement.

Yeah, the Mail app only seems to support IMAP and Exchange ActiveSync.

One very disappointing aspect of Win8 is File History... The fact that it only will cover libraries is bad. So I'm still using the normal Backup & Re... I mean "Windows 7 File Recovery". Having a Time Machine-like one-click backup solution is a nice idea, but TM backs up everything and expects you to exclude folders you don't want backed up. This just goes "lol libraries".

Also, here's something weird. Before I migrated my files, I could only choose "Windows Default" for the sound scheme. After migrating, the list of sound schemes from Windows 7 appeared and seem to be working.

When I installed the preview edition back when it was released I gave it all of 20 minutes before throwing my hands up in disgust and vowing to never use it.

I realized that as a software developer and self-proclaimed geek that this was a bad idea and knee jerk reaction. I proceeded to install it on a separate hard drive and really use it. It was painful at first but after about an hour or so it really started to click and I was actually productive with it.

I took the risk and installed the RTM version last night on my main hard drive and the installation process could not have been smoother. All my devices including my HP Photosmart D110 were operational.

I'm sure I'll run into issues and things I don't like but as it stands now, I'm happy I installed it and I think MS has something nice on their hands.

Is there a list of all settings that could prevent certain Metro apps from opening (e.g. News, Weather, Bing)? Newly imaged PCs work without issue for me; once I join them to the domain Metro apps stop working. Starting some testing on this, but it appears there can be multiple causes per this thread

Yeah, the Mail app only seems to support IMAP and Exchange ActiveSync.

One very disappointing aspect of Win8 is File History... The fact that it only will cover libraries is bad. So I'm still using the normal Backup & Re... I mean "Windows 7 File Recovery". Having a Time Machine-like one-click backup solution is a nice idea, but TM backs up everything and expects you to exclude folders you don't want backed up. This just goes "lol libraries".

Also, here's something weird. Before I migrated my files, I could only choose "Windows Default" for the sound scheme. After migrating, the list of sound schemes from Windows 7 appeared and seem to be working.

I can't say that I want my personal data and program/Windows data all backed up into the same block-level backup, which it sounds like is what you want. To me, personal data and program/Windows data should reside on separate partitions or drives, and each should be backed up differently: program/Windows data with block-level imaging, and personal data with loose files backup like File History does. I really don't want to trust the main backup of my personal data to a proprietary backup format. With that said, though, File History is very rudimentary, and since it throws timestamps into the filenames of everything, I would still have to rely on the restore software to get my files back instead of just copying things directly from the external drive. So I'm still not sure if I'll move away from my current robocopy backup solution.

Crazy88s wrote:

When I installed the preview edition back when it was released I gave it all of 20 minutes before throwing my hands up in disgust and vowing to never use it.

I realized that as a software developer and self-proclaimed geek that this was a bad idea and knee jerk reaction. I proceeded to install it on a separate hard drive and really use it. It was painful at first but after about an hour or so it really started to click and I was actually productive with it.

I took the risk and installed the RTM version last night on my main hard drive and the installation process could not have been smoother. All my devices including my HP Photosmart D110 were operational.

I'm sure I'll run into issues and things I don't like but as it stands now, I'm happy I installed it and I think MS has something nice on their hands.

This has been my experience as well. Tried one of the previews and restored Win7 the same night. But my experience with the RTM has been fine. I too didn't have to install a SINGLE driver which I was very impressed with. It was fully up and running at first boot, and the whole install took probably less than 10 minutes. I still have some issues with the design and function of the Metro app style, but some of the new apps might be nice to use, and more importantly, I have almost no issue with the Start screen replacing the Start menu. A couple things take an extra click or action to do, but its mostly very usable, and it's also nice to have a sort of "gadgets 2.0" with the live tiles, seeing as Vista/Win7 gadgets never really took off.

Yeah, the Mail app only seems to support IMAP and Exchange ActiveSync.

One very disappointing aspect of Win8 is File History... The fact that it only will cover libraries is bad. So I'm still using the normal Backup & Re... I mean "Windows 7 File Recovery". Having a Time Machine-like one-click backup solution is a nice idea, but TM backs up everything and expects you to exclude folders you don't want backed up. This just goes "lol libraries".

Also, here's something weird. Before I migrated my files, I could only choose "Windows Default" for the sound scheme. After migrating, the list of sound schemes from Windows 7 appeared and seem to be working.

I can't say that I want my personal data and program/Windows data all backed up into the same block-level backup, which it sounds like is what you want. To me, personal data and program/Windows data should reside on separate partitions or drives, and each should be backed up differently: program/Windows data with block-level imaging, and personal data with loose files backup like File History does. I really don't want to trust the main backup of my personal data to a proprietary backup format. With that said, though, File History is very rudimentary, and since it throws timestamps into the filenames of everything, I would still have to rely on the restore software to get my files back instead of just copying things directly from the external drive. So I'm still not sure if I'll move away from my current robocopy backup solution.

It's not a matter of what files go where, it's that File History won't touch the AppData folder, the folder where every desktop app will store its settings and data. Sure, File History will restore my documents, but I'll lose my Firefox profile, those game saves that actually don't clutter up the Documents folder, my Zune database, my Windows Phone backup... I might as well have reinstalled my OS and started from scratch again.

So why won't you set up your libraries to back those files up? I'm not quite following why you won't work within the software to accomplish your goals. Basically you need to use the libraries like you would a backup selection. So you can turn the C drive into a library and back it up, which is functionally equivalent with checking the C drive in ntbackup. Or you could create a library for your game saves, and one for your FF prefs, etc.

I shudder to imagine what happens when File History hits the winsxs folder for example. And I bet there will be some support article in October saying "making a library for the entire disk is an unsupported configuration blah blah"

Look, if the feature wasn't designed with a full system backup in mind, I am not going to trust it to back up my system. End of story.

I think you area unnecessarily handicapping yourself to make a point.

You complained about the lack of a feature, I showed you how to do it, and you won't do it. But now you know it exists so really that is the only thing that matters.

As far as the "backup" goes, it is a folder with a whole bunch of folders and files inside. In the clear. Not hiding in a binary. It's not that hard to make sure it is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

How am I handicapping myself? I'm using the other backup method that's still in Windows 8. They are both there. I am choosing to fall back on the more tried and tested method of backup for now. You are welcome to be the guinea pig for setting the whole drive as a library. Libraries are per-user. How does this work in a multi-user environment? I'll use File History when it becomes more robust. It doesn't safely fit what I want to do for now.

You have probably not tested it in a multi-user environment.You have probably not used it to restore files after a reinstall of the OS.

I test a lot of pre-release software, but I am not always willing to be the guinea pig.

This isn't really a "public" trial, but a trial for devs without MSDN accounts to test against. It has an IMPORTANT CAVEAT that I hope will go away once the OS hits GA and the real trial goes up. Namely: Following the evaluation period, you will need to replace the operating system on your test computer and reinstall all your programs and data. It is not possible to upgrade the evaluation to a licensed working version of Windows 8. A clean installation is required. (Emphasis mine)

So, don't install this on a real box that has data you care about on, unless you're cool with reformatting it again in 90 days.

Yup, just installed this on my tablet to tide me over until retail Windows 8 comes out. I think I'm going to sell my Samsung Slate for sure. Something about how the touchscreen behaves makes it impossible to select things or use the long-touch right-click on the desktop. It's really annoying when trying to move around tiles.

Did you download the driver software for long touch right click or whatever it's called? I had similar issues with desktop right click but a driver patch from Samsung fixed it up.

It's not a matter of what files go where, it's that File History won't touch the AppData folder, the folder where every desktop app will store its settings and data. Sure, File History will restore my documents, but I'll lose my Firefox profile, those game saves that actually don't clutter up the Documents folder, my Zune database, my Windows Phone backup... I might as well have reinstalled my OS and started from scratch again.

Yeah, I understand that. For me it's not a problem because I keep all my stuff in the default libraries, and there are only a couple things I care about in AppData, which I just let CrashPlan take care of. What is there from Firefox to backup? Isn't there Firefox Sync or something like that? Are you able to choose a location for your Windows Phone backup? For things like save games file and other loose ends, I really think just creating an extra library for those is the easiest thing to do. Either way, I see very little reason why someone would want to backup their entire hard drive with File History. Likewise, as I mentioned, I wouldn't want to entrust all my personal data to a block-level tool like Win7 backup either. So I like the current combination of a system image + File History (or robocopy).

bilyl wrote:

Does Previous Versions not exist anymore in W8 and is it replaced by File History?

Correct, VSS is still there, but the Previous Versions user-facing feature is gone. File History will give you previous versions, but not on the same drive and not block-level. I think Previous Versions served a good role, because it was not meant for file backup but rather just for version restoration, like OS X's current file revision features. But I guess they determined it wasn't important enough for home users. I believe Win8 Server still has it.

I'm in a reboot loop, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL after installing 64-bit Office 2010 Professional. It's attempting repairs again, for the third time now.

I have 64-bit Windows 8 Release Preview which has been working fine for the last 3 weeks on my Dell Optiplex 740 desktop. I purchased Office 2010 Pro through the HUP & installed it a couple of days ago. It worked fine, till I rebooted, then it gave the blue screen & attempted repairs, but said that it failed. After a power off, it came back up fine, but with Office 2010 gone & also VLC player 2.0.3 gone, which I had installed earlier today.

Since it was working normally, I re-installed Office 2010, but not VLC, then rebooted & it did the same thing. Based on this, I believe that the issue is Office 2010, not VLC.

I did a quick search, but don't see any consensus that Office 2010 shouldn't work on Windows 8 RD.

One thing; when I restarted Windows, it did mention "Restart with Updates".

I have not updated any hardware drivers since I downloaded ver. 9.18.13.280 (NVIDIA ver. 296.17) for Windows 8 CP from the NVIDIA site for the integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE chip several weeks ago.

~Dave

Update on this; I finally got my Windows 8 box set up in our new place in Raleigh, NC and had the time to work on this. The only way to resolve the reboot loop, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL after installing 64-bit Office 2010 Professional was to do a “Refresh” install of Windows 8. Of course I lost ALL installed applications, but it did generate a list of removed apps & save it to my desktop.

Earlier I mentioned that the Office 2010 install had installed the 64-bit version by default. As Entegy said, this was not the case. I don’t remember intentionally selecting the 64-bit version, but I must have, since the subsequent installation installed the 32-bit version.

This time I had no trouble with the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error. I’ve rebooted several times and used Word and Excel without issue.

Entegy wrote:

Under no circumstances have I ever heard Office defaulting to 64-bit. The primary links and installs are always 32-bit Office. You almost have to fight to get Office 64-bit.

This isn't really a "public" trial, but a trial for devs without MSDN accounts to test against. It has an IMPORTANT CAVEAT that I hope will go away once the OS hits GA and the real trial goes up. Namely: Following the evaluation period, you will need to replace the operating system on your test computer and reinstall all your programs and data. It is not possible to upgrade the evaluation to a licensed working version of Windows 8. A clean installation is required. (Emphasis mine)

So, don't install this on a real box that has data you care about on, unless you're cool with reformatting it again in 90 days.

Yup, just installed this on my tablet to tide me over until retail Windows 8 comes out. I think I'm going to sell my Samsung Slate for sure. Something about how the touchscreen behaves makes it impossible to select things or use the long-touch right-click on the desktop. It's really annoying when trying to move around tiles.

Did you download the driver software for long touch right click or whatever it's called? I had similar issues with desktop right click but a driver patch from Samsung fixed it up.

This isn't really a "public" trial, but a trial for devs without MSDN accounts to test against. It has an IMPORTANT CAVEAT that I hope will go away once the OS hits GA and the real trial goes up. Namely: Following the evaluation period, you will need to replace the operating system on your test computer and reinstall all your programs and data. It is not possible to upgrade the evaluation to a licensed working version of Windows 8. A clean installation is required. (Emphasis mine)

So, don't install this on a real box that has data you care about on, unless you're cool with reformatting it again in 90 days.

Yup, just installed this on my tablet to tide me over until retail Windows 8 comes out. I think I'm going to sell my Samsung Slate for sure. Something about how the touchscreen behaves makes it impossible to select things or use the long-touch right-click on the desktop. It's really annoying when trying to move around tiles.

Did you download the driver software for long touch right click or whatever it's called? I had similar issues with desktop right click but a driver patch from Samsung fixed it up.

Why is it impossible to find crude oil futures on anything but Yahoo Finance? They make it clear as day: http://finance.yahoo.com/futures, last trade 96.40, that's all I wanted to know. I can never find this information anywhere else. I'd like to find it in the Metro finance app so I can pin it to the Start screen.

Just wanted to let folks know that $15 upgrade offer from Microsoft at http://www.windowsupgradeoffer.com is now live. The offer is available in selected countries if you purchase(d) a Windows PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. You can register today, and when Windows 8 is available for purchase, you'll receive an email.

Does Previous Versions not exist anymore in W8 and is it replaced by File History?

Unbelievably, yes (meaning that it's gone). File History also backs up only at the file level, unlike Previous Versions that backed up at the block level, which is why it didn't require a separate drive unlike File History.

I understand that for a backup system targeted for a separate volume why you would want file-level backup, you don't want your backup files tied to a particular OS's shadow copy service. But removing previous versions doesn't make sense to me; it's not a "backup" system in that it protects from hardware failure, but what it does protect is from user error - which IME, is far more prevalent when we're dealing with missing files. Employing VSS meant it consumed only a small portion of your HD as well.

The interface for it was crap, but the solution to that is not to rip it out entirely and move to a system with obvious drawbacks as compared to the previous. Fix the damn interface so it's more noticeable to users, don't just remove it.

So I had an issue where my internal drives were being picked up as removable. I had to install some Intel drivers and now they're being recognized as fixed drives. I've turned on BitLocker on my system and backup drives. IDGAF about the Games drive really.

Very glad that there's an option to encrypt just data in use rather than the entire drive. I can't imagine how long encrypting a 2TB drive would take.

Just wanted to let folks know that $15 upgrade offer from Microsoft at http://www.windowsupgradeoffer.com is now live. The offer is available in selected countries if you purchase(d) a Windows PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. You can register today, and when Windows 8 is available for purchase, you'll receive an email.

Funny: in Switzerland, they offer me to upgrade for 17.95... Swedish Krona. Someone at MS confused Switzerland and Sweden. Even more funny, they got the languages right: go figure

I should consider myself lucky, though: it could have been Swaziland.

Even more weird: the price is in CHF for the German version of the page. As for our Italian-speaking part, apparently they aren't deemed worth the effort of a web page.